Songfacts®:

• "Bulletproof" is a heartbreak anthem drenched in the sweat of failed remedies. Jack and Jim couldn't drown out the echoes of an ex-lover's memory. Shelf-bound heartbreak bottles, shots galore – nothing numbs the pain. It's a war waged with whiskey, but her memory stands bulletproof.
  
  "I've dealt with some heartache throughout my life, and I've also been the deliverer of heartache to some," said Smith. "It's funny because we think sometimes that alcohol is gonna make you forget the person, but often times it brings it right back up. There are so many things we can try to do to get over someone we love, but really time is the only thing that can help."
• Ben Johnson (Hardy's "Truck Bed," Parmalee's "Take My Name"), Ashley Gorley (Chris Stapleton's "You Should Probably Leave," Morgan Wallen's "Last Night") and Hunter Phelps (Jameson Rodgers' "Cold Beer Calling My Name," hardy and Lainey Wilson's "Wait In The Truck") wrote the song. Gorley, who also co-penned Smith's "World On Fire" single, had it sent to the singer.
  
  "I immediately loved it," said Smith. "I thought the beginning had a Tom Petty vibe to it and then the chorus has this massive lift. It sounded like an anthem, and I knew I wanted to cut it."
• In the studio, Nate Smith's producer, Lindsay Rimes, whipped up a jungle of rock-infused instrumentation. But once Smith stepped into the sonic arena, his vocals towered over Rimes' roaring production.
• The musicians are:
  
  Evan Hutchings: drums
  Tim Galloway: acoustic guitar
  Tony Lucido: bass
  Sol Philcox-Littlefield: electric guitar
  Alex Wright: keyboards
• Nate Smith's "Bulletproof" wasn't exactly planned. Back in April 2021, Ben Johnson, Ashley Gorley, and Hunter Phelps were cooking up some song starters for future songwriting sessions, but one idea took off like a rocket. "We were supposed to just do a start, and we end up writing the whole song," Johnson told Billboard "So that was a happy accident."
  
  That song was "Bulletproof."
• The inspiration for "Bulletproof," believe it or not, was a UK dance track from way back in 2009. When Johnson heard La Roux's synth-heavy song, he pictured those thumping beats mixed with some country-style wordplay – "take shots at me, but I'm bulletproof" – and jotted the idea into his phone. After he threw it into the mix, Gorley and Phelps came up with the opening lines of the chorus.
  
  "This one was faster than most of the songs I would say that we've ever written," Phelps said. "It was quick, because I remember instantly him going 'I've tried Jack, I've tried Jim.' I was like, 'Man, we're off to the races right now. That's it.'"
• The three songwriters threw in some good ol' Southern imagery – heartbreak bottles stacked high, the sweet sting of whiskey – and bam! "Bulletproof" was born. As Phelps puts it, "Ashley starts belting out those 'shots, shots, shots,' and we knew we had something special."
• Nate Smith teamed up with Canadian singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne to release a duet version of "Bulletproof" on May 16, 2024.